Communications 102 Test 1

mystification

- Belief that certain things are unknowable - *Scientists believe that everything that can be reliably measured is knowable

folk wisdom is loaded with ______ and considered ________

-"truth" -"accepted knowledge"

Effects research for producers

-Can help media practitioners create effective and persuasive messages to achieve goals -Can help improve the quality of the news-reporting -Can help media practitioners increase the likelihood of prosocial media effects

cohort study

-Uncovering changes occurring to a generational group over time Surveying the same generational group at multiple times Example - Generation Y Interviewing those born in 1981 and afterward at multiple times The individuals surveyed are Not the same individuals But they belong to the same generational cohort

example of folk wisdom

-an apple a day keeps the doctor away -don't cut your fingernails at night -5 second rule --> actual study showed eating an apple a day made you healthier and there used to be real reason in that there wasn't electricity so you couldn't see your nails but now that is not a problem

Why do people study the effects of mass communication

-application to public policy -utility for practitioners of mass communication -benefits for media consumers -developing social scientific theories about communication and culture

effects research for audiences

-can provide parents and educators with important information regarding the processes of media effects -can help consumers understand how to mitigate negative effects -many non-profit media watchdog groups

ways of knowing

-common sense or folk wisdom -senses and experiences -authority -science

example of systematic

-planning and documenting cellphone use -test the hypothesis about father's health by clipping fingernails at night and checking his temperature the next day for a year

survey research

-search for factors that might effect the relationship between variables because surveys are commonly conducted with representative samples of the population of interest -cannot provide causation -good for determining associations

what are two big areas of concern in media

-the effects of movies on children and in general -negative attack ads are swaying political campaigns

important terms in social science research

-theory -hypothesis -variable -independent variable -dependent variable

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

-use of broadcast waves/signals -content diversity/ sex and violence in the media

disadvantages of lab experiments

1. artificial surroundings of the lab experiments may affect research 2. experimental bias (can be avoided with double blind experiments)

what are the positive effects of laboratory experiments according to Wilmer and Dominick

1. experiment establishes causality 2. experiment can afford the researcher control 3. Experiments are less expensive 4. easier to replicate than other types of research methods

effects research for theory building

Academic approach Attempts to understand why and how media effects occur rather than just asking whether effects can be found. -Develops hypotheses and tests them using scientific methods

OTA transactional model

Separates the communication into three distinct processes: message formulation, message interpretation, and message exchange and emphasizes the interdependencies of the processes.

Interactive communication

This is the most common and most effective approach to communication. It's where two or more people exchange information. Consider status meetings, ad-hoc meetings, phone calls, and videoconferences. - is an exchange of ideas where both participants, whether human, machine or art form, are active and can have an effect on one another. It is a dynamic, two-way flow of information. -DOSEN'T HAVE TO BE HUMAN COMMUNICATION

content irrelevant

Time/Activity displacement effects Taking time away from life -Health effects Ex: if you are watching TV, it is taking time away from life which is effecting your health. However, the actual content on the TV is not what is causing the health effects but the amount of time spent watching. The content is irrelevant to the effect

how does the Westley-MacLean model differ from the Shannon Weaver Model?

Westley-Maclean includes mechanisms for feedback, or return flow of information from a receiver to the original source

Shannon Weaver Model

a communication model that includes the information source, the message, the receiver, the sender, the channel, the signal and any noise that may interrupt the communication process (a model that depicts a message emanating from an information source , which becomes a signal after passing through a transmitter )

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

a federal agency empowered to prevent persons or corporations from using unfair methods of competition in commerce -advertising -media ownership concentration

gatekeeping

a mechanism that has the power to control information and even prevent it from reaching a destination -gatekeeper was thought to be an important new dimension of communication models because it addresses the role of editors who control and select messages that are ultimately read in newspapers or watched on the news

variable

a phenomenon/event we observe whose attributes vary across individuals and to which more than one value can be assigned

model

a pictorial means of explicating or facilitating the understanding of an abstract process such as communication -they organize concepts, explain processes, predict outcomes

meta-analysis

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies -relatively new methodology -unusual in that it does not contribute any new primary evidence regarding media effects -relies on studies that have already been completed and uses those studies as the data for a new, overall summary

hypothesis

a specific statement or proposal that can be tested by means of gathering empirical evidence

content analysis

a systematic analysis of the content rather than the structure of a communication, such as a written work, speech, or film -allows the researcher to describe the nature of the content of communication in a systematic, rigorous fashion -used to examine the presence, absence, or quantity of certain attributes of media messages that allegedly contribute to certain types of media impact -can provide a valuable profile of the type of content that might be expected to lead to prosocial or antisocial media effects

trend study

a type of longitudinal study in which a given characteristic of some population is monitored over time -Uncovering over time trends in a society Surveying different groups of individuals at multiple times Examples Interviewing adult Americans in 1980, 1990, 2000 Interviewing high school students in 1980. 1990, 2000 The individuals surveyed are similar with respect to their status in life or some characteristic at the time of the survey Same survey over time to different people of same age

what is the problem with believing authority

blind allegiance to authority can have debilitating results on our search for reliable knowledge -experts may not always have the "expertise" with which we credit them -the supposed authority could have interests to protect--> biased

communication may be thought of as a ________ that produces a ___________

cause effect

short term

changes that take place right after exposure to a message -typical ex: ice bucket challenge--> may impact at moment but some people will forget a few days later

linear models

communication is considered one way process where sender is the only one who sends message and receiver doesn't give feedback or response ex) email from retail store that doesn't expect an answer/reply

Thorson Cognitive Processing Model

concentrates on steps taken in the processing of tv commercials -takes into consideration the individuals personal interest in and attention to the commercial message, the person's memory, and even language capacity, in determining potential effects of the messages

Affective effects

concern "how you feel" -emotions and moods -positive or negative (ambivalent) -attitudes-global affective evaluations -ex: ALS ice bucket challenge is affective in that it influences people's emotions by making them more aware of the cause and having an emotional reaction to the struggles that come with it

Behavioral effects

concern "what you do" -concrete responses to messages -observable -anti-social or pro-social -Ex: because Bill Gates is a very influential person, it will influence people into doing the challenge as well and raising awareness

cognitive effects

concern "what you think" -knowledge and beliefs -how does media affect what we believe to be true? -ex: ALS ice bucket challenge is cognitive in that people will start thinking about and gaining knowledge of ALS

example of empirical

concluding example and writing down observations about father's health

empirical

conclusion must correspond with what we observe -think about experiences -make conclusions about your observed experiences

Comstock Pyschological Model

describes certain mental processes that occur while watching television -shows that the behavior of an individual viewer may be influenced by televised actions

logical

development of logical expectations -use arguments and observation to come up with logical expectations and then you can test those expectations

cognitive-affective-behavioral effects

dimensions of media effects

interpersonal communication

direct, face-to-face communication between two or more PEOPLE; two people engaging in conversation -MUST BE PEOPLE

theory

educated set of propositions -an explanation

Schramm interactive model

emphasizes sharing of information between communicators, who give and receive information between communicators, who give and receive information between communicators, who give and receive information interactively

what do you need to do to content

encode and decode it

long term

enduring/ cumulative -ex: Ice bucket challenge--> may impact for longer and cause people to be really affected by it and take action

Westley-MacLean model

expanded upon Shannon-Weaver model -a sender receiver model to explain types of communication other than telecommuncation -The Westley and MacLean's model can be applied in two contexts: interpersonal and mass communication, the point of difference being the feedback. Feedback is direct and fast in interpersonal communication and indirect and slow in mass communication.

field experiments

experiments conducted in natural settings rather than in the laboratory -don't allow us much control as experiments -rate high in external validity

external validity

extent to which we can generalize findings to real-world settings

media system dependency model

focuses on the relationships between the mass media entity and society itself -assumes that individuals in modern society become increasingly dependent upon mass media as a source of news and information

general vs specific

general-theory specific- hypothesis

forms

genres or types of programs/articles ex: entertainment content

intended

goal: have a specific effect on the viewer persuasive campaigns -ALS is intended because it is trying to get people to pass the challenge on

macro in ice bucket challenge

greater level by impacting society as a whole

content

has different forms and channels

mass communication

if voice is being transmitted to a large number of viewers watching in homes scattered throughout the world

short term vs long term

immediate vs enduring

inoculation

immunizing against persuasive messages in advance/ prevent problems before they happen -Dukakis tank ad (ineffective, created opposition, but he was trying to inoculate concerns that he had no defense experience)

Micro vs Macro

individual vs. society

micro in ice bucket challenge

individually impacting each viewer

senses and experiences

learning from personal experiences and their own observations

Science is...

logical, systematic, and empirical

panel studies

longitudinal study where data are collected from the same individuals at successive time points -require the researcher to either interview or send questionnaires to the same respondents at different times -not often as employed as other methods -may be expensive

channels

means of conveying and receiving messages ex: TV, computer, cellphone

What is one important facet of media studies research

measuring the effects of viewing screen violence

what do theories generate

multiple predictions

Unintended by-products

negative effects (ex: effects of sex and violence in the media) -glorification of violence and sex -more sex and violence in some shows leads to more sex and violence in other shows and in life

Frank W. Abagnale Jr.

pawned himself off as many different fake identities so that he could stay in front of the FBI who was chasing him -faked many different identities and people believed him to be an authority figure

systematic

planned activities for making observations and examining expectations

Intended vs unintended

planned vs accidental

unintended positive effects

political impact of entertainment media -learning from the Daily Show

how can authority clarify controversy?

professors can clear up mistakes on tests or teach a new thing

reinforcement in Ice bucket challenge

reinforce existing beliefs or behaviors

Social Scientific Research

social science research is systemic and representative so that you can generalize -it replicates -it overcomes some of the problems associated with other ways of knowing stuff

Change vs. Reinforcement

some communication messages aim to prevent change or stabilize what currently exists (reinforcement) change: effect is one that is different from current path reinforcement: aka stabilization. Effect is one that prevents change/stabilizes what exists

Common Sense or Folk Wisdom

something is true because... -it is self evident or widely known -obvious -we assume it is true

Content Dependent

specific media content is linked to specific effects -ex: watching violence in media--> becoming aggressive (people took longer to help injured person after watching violent movie) -cause--> outcome -ALS is content dependent because it will effect people into doing the challenge

Ralph Huser

studied people who were exposed to violence when little kids and are still experiencing 40 years later some of the effects of the violence

communication is the study of....

symbolic activities

people often respond to ____________ rather than _____________

symbols of authority rather than the substance of authority -it is difficult to see authority. We only see "symbols" of authority and these symbols are easy to counterfeit

Change in Ice bucket example

teaches people knowledge and raises awareness--> make a change in the world and change people's ideas

Effects research for public policy

tends to be sparked by funding for large scale studies main players: federal agencies

process

the act of communicating by way of interpersonal face-to-face interactions

what does Professor believe communication is?

the creation of meaning -without meaning there would be chaos

transactional communication

the process of constructing shared messages or understandings between two or more individuals -TMC is essentially a two-way communication between two entities, sender and receiver, typically human beings (CONCERNED WITH CONTENT OF MEDIA)

encoding

the processing of information into the memory system -process of message construction

empiricism

the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation -is dangerous because it can lead to over generalizing things through personal experiences ---> Japanese people show up on time to class= all Japanese people are punctual (this is a generalization and is not fair)

which is always more general

theory--> however, it CAN be TOO general--> theories need some aspect of specificity

example of theory an hypothesis

theory: people imitate what they see other people do hypothesis: children who are shown superman cartoons in their school will hit other children more often on the playground that day than children who watch Sesame Street

focuses on both the verbal and nonverbal choices we make and that we have the ability to choose how to create MEANING/CONTENT from the messages we receive -Transactional model of communication is the exchange of messages between sender and receiver where each take turns to send or receive messages

transaction communication

authority

truth is established through a trusted source such as religious leaders, government, officials, experts, and professors

decoding

understanding, interpreting, and applying

example of logical reasoning

use logical reasoning to say that fingernail clippings have no effect on father's health

triangulation

using different research methods to answer the same question, in order to be more certain of the answer -if the results of the three are similar, the cumulative findings are much more compelling than the findings of any of the studies independent of one another

independent variable

variable that is manipulated -cause -reason why some kind of effect happens

overgeneralization

we take one or a few observations and then say it represents the whole group

selective observation

we tend to only focus on certain events that support our thoughts or interests and ignore others -just paying attention to whats in front of you only -as a result you overgeneralize (re example of Japanese students)

can a single theory have multiple hypotheses?

yes

Is Shannon-Weaver Model a linear model?

yes, it is one of the first